Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-01-12
MYsTERIOUs SUGAR MACHINE
Refining tbe Raw Material at a Cost
Of Ftahty Cents "A TOu.

A New York special says: A machine,
quite Keely.like in some respects, has been
set gong in Brooklyn. Stock is, OF course,
for sale. The thing purpOrts to be an cleo
! trio sugar-retner, and looks like big coll
fin, with a hopper at one end. What is
| inside is a matter between the inventor and
his conscience or the machine and its
maker, who is Henry &. Friend. He says
| that it will refine sugar without boiling or
the use Of comeback, extract all but an
infniteimal fraction OF the saccharine
matter, and make pure, hard sugar
| Of 1t at a cost OF eighty cents ton. He has
| discovered new way OF producing elec-
tricity at nominal cost, and all he deign5
| TO explain about bis machine is that ii uses
! the electricity to refine sugar. In order TO
convince sCeptIcal sugar-men and inquiring
capitalists that the thing would work, he
| invited number OF them TO witness the
| operation OF refining sugar. They were
| shown into q room that contained several
barrels OF raw sugar, an equal number OF
| clean, empty barrels, and a mysterious
something carefully covered up. After q
| fruitless search for trap-dOoTs, concealed
sugar and appliances adapted to decep'
| ton, the Investigators were turned out
of the room and the door locked behind
them, leaving Friend alone with the
machine. The capitalists and scepucs
J provl led around outside for four hours,
watching the doors, windows. and chimney
stacks like detectives. At the end OF that
| lime they were invited to ree1ter the mys-
| terious chamber. The machine was covered
| up as before, the raw sugar had diSap-
reared. and the clean barrels were full oil
the finest quality OF hard sugar, the crystals
| being OF form unknown to retlners. The
! apparent product equalled 92t per cent. OF
| the weight OF the raw sugar that bad dis
| appeared. The sugar men tried 10 lind That
raw material, but there seemed 10 be no
place for concealng it about the room, and
! il was quite certain that Friend didn't have
| il slowed away in his clothes.
Another demonstration, as this presto
| change performance is termed, was made
with about three tons Of sugar and similar
results. But capital is wary, and declines
10 invest itself until 1t sees the inside OF
the machine. The company offers shares
| OF about 300 per cent. above par, and
promises refinery in Brooklyn to turn out
| 800 tons OF sugar at a cost OF so cents ton,
or net profit OF about sos a ton. The man.
| ager saws that big rciiner offered 81 100000
| for half interest, but his ridiculously
| small sum was rejected. He says the sugar
rcfinerles OF the country will have to shut
] up as soon as the new scheme gets fairly
| into operation.
One OF the large sugar dealers says: at
| the machine Will refine sugar and get al
| the .accharine matter into crystalline form
| in four hours, at q cost OF so cents, or even
| 500 cents ton, no doubt IL is an immense
| thing, but there is too much keelY-mOtoT
| business about it. Not man in the com
| pany knows the first blessed thing about
the machine, and the inventors contract
with the company provides that IL the
stockholders make any attempt to find out
how the machine works, or ask him any
| questions with that purpose In view, the
company forfeits It's rights in the In
! yention. Any man who wants to
blow his money into freeze-oui
game Is at liberty to DO so, Of
course" The officers OF the company
| explain that the stockholders are perfectly
protected, US all they have to do IS TO put
up the buildings and furnish the raw mate
! rial. the inventor contracting TO run the
machinery himself and produce hard sugar,
for which the company Is to pay him eighty
| cents q ton. "Tf he wants to buy refined
sugar, smuggle it into his machine and
sway it or for low grade raw sugar and
eighty cents per ton boot, the company
ought not 10 kick very hard or care whether
bis machine Is Keely-motor or not" says
Mr. COlterill. "The capacity OF the ma.
chine to get sugar out OF something has been
demonstrated by the sale OF stock" The
machine remains mystery.